world-weary
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of world-weary
First recorded in 1760–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The world-weary consumer of news might reasonably wonder if we’re headed into another version of climate alarmism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
Taylor, in disguise, becomes an advisor to Matthew, who has no clue that “Hugh” is also the stylish, world-weary woman he encountered in a record store.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025
She emerged from the experience battle-scarred and world-weary in 1979 and used her worn-down voice to great effect in a blast of future-forward new wave music called "Broken English."
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025
For “Stress Positions,” the writer-director Theda Hammel shows her hand when a character says, in a world-weary voice-over, that the madness we’re about to witness “happened so long ago.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2024
I tried sounding businesslike and world-weary, but when the day eventually came, my nerves kicked in and the true Mr. Sedaris revealed himself.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
